What's YOUR Story? Telling the Tale from the Journalist's Perspective
As part of One Book, One Philadelphia, MAGPI members are invited to participate in a one month virtual storytelling project . Students involved in the “What’s YOUR Story? Telling the Tale from the Journalist’s Perspective”Project will have an opportunity to explore various forms of journalistic writing, participate in an interactive videoconference with the author of The Soloist, Steve Lopez, create their own journalistic writing and showcase their pieces in a virtual festival.
Students will have an opportunity to hear from Steve Lopez and learn what inspired him to write The Soloist during a kick-off videoconference event in March . Each student will then be challenged to compose a journalistic account in response to the prompt “What happens when we help? . ” Schools will then select a 3-5 memoirs to post on a special project wiki, where students and teachers from other schools will have an opportunity to read and reflect on the students’ work. Each participating school will then be assigned a partner school, from which they will exchange memoirs. Each class will then create a storytelling performance (can use song, dramatic reading, drama, dance, multimedia or other) to tell the partner class’s chosen memoir related to helping another. During the virtual storytelling festival, students will have an opportunity to discuss their interpretations of each other's work, reflect on how other literary art forms can enhance or perhaps take something away from a given text, which points in the story were particularly striking to them and what it is like to see one’s work interpreted by others.
In the spirit of Lopez’s book, this year’s One Book, One Philadelphia, selection, this project is a celebration of stories reflecting life and the human spirit. Each teacher who participates in this project will receive a copy of The Soloist, compliments of The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.
What's YOUR Story? Telling the Tale from the Journalist's Perspective
Students will have an opportunity to hear from Steve Lopez and learn what inspired him to write The Soloist during a kick-off videoconference event in March . Each student will then be challenged to compose a journalistic account in response to the prompt “What happens when we help? . ” Schools will then select a 3-5 memoirs to post on a special project wiki, where students and teachers from other schools will have an opportunity to read and reflect on the students’ work. Each participating school will then be assigned a partner school, from which they will exchange memoirs. Each class will then create a storytelling performance (can use song, dramatic reading, drama, dance, multimedia or other) to tell the partner class’s chosen memoir related to helping another. During the virtual storytelling festival, students will have an opportunity to discuss their interpretations of each other's work, reflect on how other literary art forms can enhance or perhaps take something away from a given text, which points in the story were particularly striking to them and what it is like to see one’s work interpreted by others.
In the spirit of Lopez’s book, this year’s One Book, One Philadelphia, selection, this project is a celebration of stories reflecting life and the human spirit. Each teacher who participates in this project will receive a copy of The Soloist, compliments of The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.
Participating Schools:
East Stroudsburg Area School District
Forest Hills School District
Lower Merion High School
Mountain View School District
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Perkiomen Valley School District
The Haverford School
Project Dates:
Kick-Off Videoconference with author Steve Lopez
March 18, 2009; 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Student Independent Journalism Project (Part I)
March 19, 2009 – April 18, 2009
Virtual Storytelling Class Project (Part II)
April 19, 2009 – May 12, 2009
Virtual Storytelling Festival
May 13, 2009; 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Class Assignments for Virtual Storytelling Project: